Benefits of Dry Ice Cleaning

Arctic Fox Dry Ice Cleaning: Benefits of dry ice cleaning

Dry ice blasting is the most effective, ecologically sound, and efficient method of deep cleaning in a wide variety of commercial , light and heavy industrial situations. The fact that dry ice blasting is chemical free, shot free and water free offers significant advantages over other methods.

1. Decreased Down Time = Increased Production Output.

Typical cleaning procedures need equipment to be disassembled and moved to an assigned area for proper cleaning. Electrical areas of the machinery will need to be treated differently as moisture is a problem - this all takes considerable time and engineering resource.

With dry ice cleaning your equipment can be cleaned hot and in situ in most situations thus saving many labour and time consuming work hours which would need to take place with other cleaning methods.

The processes that can be eliminated are:

Cool down

Disassembly

Transport of the equipment to and from a dedicated cleaning area

Reassembly

Reheating time

Dry ice blasting can shorten the time needed for deep cleaning from days to hours allowing you to get back to profitable production.

2. No By Product Waste = Reduced Waste Disposal Costs

Typically other cleaning methods such as:

solvents and chemicals

shot blasting using sand, bead, grit or glass

pressure washing using water and liquids

...mean that the original contaminant becomes combined with the cleaning agent, thus increasing the volume of waste to be disposed of.

Dry ice cleaning does not produce any secondary waste stream as the dry ice disappears back into the atmosphere leaving only the dislodged primary contaminant to be disposed of. This reduced volume of waste can make significant savings in waste disposal costs.

3. Dry Methodology = Safe Around Electrics

Dry ice blasting is totally safe around electrical equipment, cables, motors, circuit boards etc. The dry ice used as the blast media sublimes on contact with a surface. This unique ability of the dry ice pellets going from the solid state instantaneously into the vapour state without going through the liquid state makes dry ice cleaning an ideal cleaning method for areas which include electrical components.

Condensation can occur depending on the ambient temperature. This can easily be managed with the use of heaters.

4. No chemicals = Environmentally sound

Dry ice cleaning does not use any chemicals or solvents.

This can be critical for companies to adhere to their environmental policies. It also goes towards improving employee health and safety as it reduces the need for exposure to harmful substances. Dry ice blasting also leaves no residue eliminating the need for wash down.

It is completely non toxic process.

5. Sanitizes = Non Toxic Process

The dry ice pellets used in dry ice blasting are frozen to -79 degrees C. This extreme temperature kills e-coli, salmonella and listeria and inhibits re-growth of bacteria.

The process is completely non toxic and there is no risk of cross contamination. Food production and pharmaceutical companies are increasingly using dry ice blasting to deep clean their plant machinery.

6. Environmentally Friendly= Increased Safety

The dry ice used in dry ice blasting is a by product of other industrial processes. This means it is not adding CO2 into the atmosphere and harming the environment.

It is a completely non toxic, non hazardous and non electrically conductive process, meaning it is an all round safer alternative to other deep cleaning techniques.

Reduced harmful waste

Safe for the environment

Safe for workers

Safe for products

Safe for equipment

7. Superior Cleaning = Increased durability

Dry ice blasting is a line of sight process achieving a thorough and effective clean even in the most hard to reach places and intricate areas. It is much faster than cleaning by hand with pads or wire brushes – leaving structures, surfaces and machinery free of residue. Deep cleaning your equipment with dry ice blasting will promote longer shelf life.

Other cleaning methods using shot such as sand, bead, grit or glass can have an abrasive effect on the material being cleaned changing the surface structure considerably.

Dry ice blasting can be non abrasive and effectively used on delicate moving parts of machinery, intricate architecture and most wooden structures ... resulting in a clean, dry, and unchanged surface. Also, as dry ice blasting allows equipment to be cleaned in place there is less risk of potential damage from moving equipment to dedicated cleaning areas.

As the dry ice pellets disappear back into the atmosphere on contact with a surface there are no blast media entrapment issues.

Other blasting techniques may cause the shot to get lodged in mechanical parts causing equipment malfunction or mechanical breakdown. It is impossible for the dry ice pellets to get ‘stuck’ in any crevices as they sublimate instantaneously allowing your equipment to be free of blockages promoting improved shelf life and durability.

Summary of dry ice cleaning benefits:

Decreases equipment downtime as cleans hot and in situ with no or minimal dismantling needed

Saves on engineering labour

Increases production potential

Increased efficiency and durability of equipment as dry ice blasting does not damage the the substrate (surface being cleaned)

No cross contamination/toxicity problems – as no chemical solvents used at all

Safe around electrics as the process is dry

Cleanup is easier and less expensive as the the dry ice, sublimates creating no by product waste. Only the dislodged contaminant has to be cleaned up

Saves labour and man hours as no secondary wash down is needed and no chemicals or solvents are used

Increased safety for personnel, employees, products and the environment